


Long-Distance

by janiejanine



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Epistolary, F/M, Trevelyan Family Antics, shameless flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 18:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10668765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janiejanine/pseuds/janiejanine
Summary: During a stay in Orlais, the Inquisitor handles romance, diplomacy, and a family crisis.





	Long-Distance

_My Lady Inquisitor,_

_Since you left, it’s been cold and grey. It seems you’ve taken the sun with you, and I eagerly await its return. Kirkwall didn’t have much to recommend it, but it did have perfect weather—warm, wet, lush, fragrant—attributes which I have come to appreciate, as they now remind me of much more pleasant locations._

_These places are far from me now, but as soon as the sun shines again, I plan to thoroughly—and slowly—explore every bit of the landscape it graces. There are many areas I don’t know as well as I’d like, each of which deserves my undivided attention. My whole mind and body will be devoted to this matter._

_When you get back, Inquisitor, please see me as soon as possible. I have a few ideas re: the use of said land (particularly in the south) that we should discuss in person. I think you’ll find them interesting._

_Take care._

Cdr. Cullen

* * *

_Commander,_

_I’m sorry to hear about your bad weather. It’s cold here, as well, although since receiving your letter, it seems considerably warmer. I would be happy to assist in any way you might require, although given the depth of your topographic study, I would think you already know all there is to know._

_It’s been an eternity since we left. Hopefully, our business here will be completed soon. These negotiations have been, in a word, frustrating--I would sooner try to talk sense into one of Leliana’s ravens._

_The conversation isn't any better. One grande dame says Did you hear what happened to the Duc de Renaud, and another says Yes, she saw him just last week and he was obviously devastated, poor thing, though he tried so pathetically to hide it, and a third says Does the Duchesse know, and the first says She does, and what a scandal it will be now that Madame Verdier told her what the Comte d’Armagnac said to the Marquise de Brumes. All rather cryptic, and designed to show us that we're outsiders. It reminds me of home._

_Despite all that, though I’m sure you’d disagree, I must admit Orlais does some things right. I’ve been learning more of the language, and some of the words are lovely; for example,_ alléchant _, which means tempting, tantalizing, or lickable, and which, I’m sure, will prove useful in the future. (The Orlesians have a word for everything, including a drop of rain resting on a woman’s collarbone, a strawberry at its absolute peak of ripeness, and the noise one makes if surprised while bathing. I wonder how they find the time.)_

_I look forward to our return to Skyhold, where things make sense—or, at least, are forthright in their strangeness._

_Until then—_

J. Trevelyan

* * *

_Inquisitor,_

_I suppose if you_ must _borrow from the Orlesians, you could do worse than “lickable”. Perhaps, when you get back, you can show me how to use it in a sentence._

_I confess I sometimes miss going out into the field, and it can grate being confined to Skyhold, despite its size. However, your descriptions of your diplomatic struggles have helpfully curbed the impulse. There are some things I don’t miss. (Besides, I couldn’t leave my office to anyone else. No one understands my filing system but you.)_

_As for geographic features, both literal and metaphorical, I doubt I’ll ever know all there is to know. Every time I think there are no surprises left, I learn something new. This place, it seems, has at least one of everything—it lacks only your presence._

_(With luck, our next discovery will be more secluded. I’d rather not get caught in the stairwell again.)_

_Impatiently,_

Cdr. Cullen

* * *

_Cullen,_

_Very well, if you’re sure. I must say, I thought the stairwell was worth it._

_I’ve been informed that Josephine is arranging for my family to visit Skyhold. Please, whatever it takes,_ **_do not let her_ ** _. Somehow, they’ll cause trouble, whether they mean to or not. I won’t have a repeat of the owl incident. Uncle Herbert still brings it up at every family function._

_Skyhold may be vast, but it is not prepared for the Trevelyans in force._

Judith

* * *

_Are you ever going to explain that, or should I keep guessing?_

_I appreciate your faith in me, but stopping Josephine when she’s made up her mind may be beyond my powers. For you, I will do my best._

_You know you can’t put them off forever. You said yourself that bullheadedness runs in the family. Besides—I’d like to meet them. If they truly are as bad as you say, I’d prefer to face it sooner rather than later._

Cullen

* * *

_I can try. As for the owls, you’ll know it when it happens._

_It’s good of you to want to make their acquaintance. Your bravery is commendable, and befits a man of your station. However, you’ll change your mind when my parents are interrogating you, and my cousins are prying, and Great-Aunt Minerva is hovering over it all like a great black bat. If Josephine is insistent upon this, she might want to house her in the Chantry tower. She can sleep upside down in it._

_You’ll want to watch out for my sister Eugenia’s little ones. They bite._

Judith

* * *

_…I see. If I can assist you in any way, please let me know._

Cullen

* * *

_Don’t worry. I have a plan. Persistence, as you know, is key to victory._

Judith

* * *

_Your campaign seems to have been a success. Josephine is still brushing feathers out of her hair, and Leliana has placed tighter restrictions on the use of her ravens. Plans for the visit have been set aside, at least for now._

_I didn’t expect you to make your point in so dramatic a fashion. That squawking black cloud descending on the keep was quite a spectacle. I believe Varric is writing a children’s story based on it._

_Next time, for my sake, perhaps you could consider using a weapon other than birds. They kept nibbling on the map._

Cullen

* * *

_Good. I’d hoped reading that many messages would keep her busy long enough to reconsider. I’m sure I’ll pay for it somehow; when we get back, I expect several days of meetings with the most boring of our ambassadors. That is, unless she can think of something worse._

_Even so, it will be better than the alternative. If my days are to be dull, we’ll simply have to make the nights more interesting._

Judith

**Author's Note:**

> I picture the Trevelyans as sort of a cross between Downton Abbey and Dynasty: refined on the outside, lots of drama inside, and their fingers in all the political pies. I just love them.


End file.
